At a time when we need more nature, more beauty in our lives, the Interior Department is considering more than 230 nominations for oil and gas leases -- covering more than 150,000 acres in southern Utah -- that would bring drilling operations within mere miles of some of the nation's most precious protected areas.

If oil and gas drilling is permitted here, industrial lighting and methane flaring would interrupt the expansive, star-filled night sky that the parks are known for. The pristine air quality and hundred-mile views would be disrupted. The stillness of the landscape would forever vanish.

We can't let them trade these precious lands for a little more oil. Tell the BLM to protect these lands from drilling and reject the proposals for nominations of lease sales on parcels just outside of our national parks.

President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is no longer going to enforce key environmental protections. Congress must exercise its oversight authority to ensure the EPA resumes protecting our air and water.

We hope you enjoyed our guide for 50 environmental activities kids can do at home, and we'd love to hear your stories! Share your stories and pictures of what your family did below, along with any more ideas for fun environmental activities:

Each year, Americans throw away millions of foam cups and take-out containers. Too often, this pollution ends up in our waterways, and eventually the ocean, where it can harm or even kill birds and marine animals such as turtles and whales.

Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our environment for hundreds of years. Tell your legislators to support a ban on one of the worst types of plastic pollution: polystyrene foam cups and containers.

We're losing species at an alarming rate, and scientists warn we're nearing another mass extinction. But President Trump has rolled back vital protections for threatened species -- and weakened the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The ESA has a 99 percent success rate saving species from extinction. I urge you to pass the Extinction Prevention Act to restore the ESA.

Transportation is the largest source of global warming pollution in America. Reducing emissions from cars and trucks is critical, but President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler are weakening the federal Clean Car Standards. It's a dangerous plan that goes against the will and well-being of the American people, increases air pollution in our communities and will lead to even more dire impacts from climate change.

Tell your senators to stand up to the Trump administration and support strong clean car standards.

Each year, Americans throw away millions of foam cups and take-out boxes. Too often, this pollution ends up in the ocean, where it can harm or even kill birds and marine animals such as turtles and whales.

Keeping our drinks hot or cold isn't worth polluting our environment for hundreds of years. Tell your legislators to support a ban on foam cups and boxes made of polystyrene to reduce pollution in our oceans and protect wildlife.

We should be able to put out fires safely and effectively without putting our lives and our environment at risk from toxic PFAS chemicals -- especially when PFAS-free alternatives already exist. Tell Congress to require the U.S. military to stop using PFAS foams by 2023.

Over 25 million American children, as well as thousands of school bus drivers, breathe polluted air on traditional diesel yellow school buses every day. Diesel pollution stunts the growth of kids' lungs and worsens asthma symptoms, and has also been linked to poorer academic performance.

Fortunately, there is a better solution: electric school buses. Electric buses don't emit any tailpipe pollution, eliminating exhaust that is linked to asthma attacks, respiratory illness,cancer, and climate change. While electric school buses are available, school districts often need help financing the switch away from diesel. The Clean School Bus Act will help school districts get the resources they need to ensure that every child has healthy air to breathe and a safe ride to school.

Tell your senator to co-sponsor the Clean School Bus Act to help bring electric school buses to your community.

The Trump administration is announcing a plan to rescind California's authority to impose stronger car pollution regulations than the federal government.

Thirteen other states have already adopted the California's auto emissions standards and several leading automakers have agreed to follow California's standards. We should be setting stronger national emission standards, not taking away states' rights to set their own. Tell your representative to speak out in defense of the Clean Car standards.

Every day, Americans throw away tons of single-use plastic bags, cups, containers and other "stuff." Among the worst forms of plastic pollution is polystyrene foam, which never degrades and far too often ends up in our waterways where it can harm wildlife.

It's time to put wildlife over waste and end our reliance on single-use plastics.

Across the country, bacterial pollution at our beaches is putting swimmers at risk of getting sick -- due in large part to stormwater runoff and sewage overflows. Tell your representative to protect our beaches - by investing in water infrastructure that prevents this pollution.

New legislation calls for increasing renewable energy in every state. This bill is an essential step to ensure that renewable energy grows in every part of the country. Tell our senators to support the Renewable Electricity Standard Act of 2019.

Single use plastic products, like straws, pose a serious threat to the environment and to wildlife when they are discarded. Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our rivers and oceans for hundreds of years--especially when we don't really need it.

I pledge to say "no" to plastic straws on this National Skip the Straw Day, February 22, 2019, and beyond.

The EPA's proposal to drastically weaken Clean Water Act protections is unacceptable. The proposed rule would wipe out federal protection for streams that provide drinking water to tens of millions of people, and for wetlands that filter pollution and protect our communities from flooding.

Please abandon this proposed rollback and return to the 2015 Clean Water Rule, which helped protect drinking water sources for 117 million Americans.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has formed the bedrock of American conservation for over 40 years, and has been 99 percent effective at preventing extinction. The proposed regulatory changes would make it easier to take protected status away from vulnerable species, and harder to protect the habitat they depend on to survive.

To protect our nation's rich biodiversity and the health of ecosystems on which we all depend, I urge you to withdraw the proposed changes to the ESA, specifically those contained in Dockets No. FWS-HQ-ES-2018-0006, No. FWS-HQ-ES-2018-0007, and No. FWS-HQ-ES-2018-0009.

I oppose any efforts to weaken national fuel efficiency and emission standards for cars.

If kept intact, these standards would cut carbon pollution nationwide by 6 billion metric tons, protecting the environment and public health. In addition, the average American household will save $2,800 under these standards.

You should be strengthening clean car standards, not putting the nation in reverse.

Sincerely,

*This comment will also be submitted to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

I oppose any efforts to weaken national fuel efficiency and emission standards for cars.

If kept intact, these standards would cut carbon pollution nationwide by 6 billion metrics tons, protecting the environment and public health. In addition, the average American household will save $2,800 under these standards.

You should be strengthening clean car standards, not putting the nation in reverse.

Deforestation is on the rise in areas of Brazil where Cargill sources commodities like soy, the cultivation of which has been linked to deforestation. And when tropical forests like these are crucial to protecting endangered species and slowing global warming, we can't afford to wait until 2030 to take action.

Cargill can be a leader when it comes to ending deforestation. I urge you to strengthen Cargill's commitment to eliminate deforestation in its supply chain by committing to achieve zero-deforestation by 2020.

The Trump administration's moves to roll back America's clean car standards recklessly endanger our health and climate. If we slam the brakes on standards that reduce climate-destabilizing tailpipe emissions from cars, it will be more likely that the cars we drive tomorrow will burn more gas, trigger more asthma attacks, and accelerate climate change.

Tropical forest destruction drives out the orangutans, elephants, jaguars and other threatened or endangered animals that live in the forests. What's more, scientists estimate that razing forests to make way for crops or cattle accounts for 10-15 percent of the pollution that's warming the planet and changing the climate. As one of the biggest players in the world's food market, Cargill is in a position to help save our tropical forests. I urge Cargill to honor its 2014 pledge to end deforestation in all of its supply chains by 2020.

Coal ash poses a major threat to our waterways, putting them at risk of toxics like arsenic, mercury and lead. Researchers have found evidence of more than 200 cases of coal ash spills and contamination in the US, and the last thing we should do is weaken the few regulations that currently exist. Stand up for our water and don't cut back on coal ash regulations.

Please do not weaken protections for groundwater under the Clean Water Act.

Groundwater is the source of drinking water for millions of Americans, and without strong protections, this drinking water source will be at risk from leaky landfills, fracking waste pits, manure lagoons at factory farms, and other pollution sources. Exempting pollution that flows into groundwater from the Clean Water Act would put our drinking water at risk.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is rolling back the standards that reduce climate-destabilizing tailpipe emissions from cars. Recklessly slamming the brakes on this progress makes it more likely the cars we drive tomorrow will burn more gas, trigger more asthma attacks, and accelerate climate change.

Tell Scott Pruitt: That's the WRONG WAY on clean cars. Cite him for driving to endanger the planet today.

Each year, Americans throw away millions of foam cups and take-out boxes. Too often, this pollution ends up in our oceans and rivers, where it can harm or even kill birds, fish and other wildlife.

Something we use for a few minutes shouldn't be allowed to pollute our environment for hundreds of years. I urge you to support a ban on foam cups and boxes made of polystyrene to reduce pollution in our waters and protect wildlife.

The anti-environment riders in the budget bill hijack the budget process, cut the public out, and threaten our rivers, lakes and streams. Tell your members of Congress today to vote no on any bill that contains anti-environment riders.

The Trump administration just released their plan to open virtually all our oceans to offshore oil drilling -- and they're accepting your public comment today. You and I and every American who cares about clean and healthy oceans need to make our voices heard before it's too late.

Our national monuments are part of what make our country special. For most Americans, the idea that we've found some places so beautiful, sacred even, that we put them off limits to development, forever, is one of our proudest achievements. I urge you to uphold this tradition and make sure places like Grand Staircase-Escalante, Cascade-Siskiyou and more are preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Our national monuments are part of what make our country special. For most Americans, the idea that we've found some places so beautiful, sacred even, that we put them off limits to development, forever, is one of our proudest achievements.

I urge you to uphold this tradition and make sure places like Bears Ears, Katahdin Woods & Waters and more are preserved for future generations to enjoy.

When it comes to our streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands, the waters we love deserve to be protected.

But the Trump administration has made clear their intentions to roll back essential protections to our clean water like the Clean Water Rule, which protects the drinking water sources of 117 million Americans.

I want stronger, not weaker clean water protections. That's why I'm calling on you to defend the waters Americans love, and uphold the Clean Water Rule.

Abandoning the Paris Climate Agreement will risk our health and the future of our planet. And if Washington, D.C., won’t act on climate, we need to take the lead. Tell our governor to curb climate change by cutting pollution today.

The Trump administration could be the first in U.S. history to revoke national monument protections. The first to lose protection could be Utah's Bears Ears, home to incredible scenery and thousands of years of historical artifacts. Our national network is joining together to tell Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to keep Bears Ears protected.

More solar energy will benefit our community by reducing air pollution as we do our part to slow climate change. That's why I support setting strong goals and policies for solar energy in our community.

When it comes to protecting our environment, Americans stand united. We want clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, public lands to enjoy, and a livable climate to share.

The children we know and love today can live cleaner, healthier lives in a greener world, but only if we can keep our environmental protections in place and make them stronger. I urge you to publicly oppose any bill that would threaten our environment or our health.

We can have healthier communities and a brighter future. But to get there, we need to transform the way we produce and consume energy.

That's why we're calling for a nationwide commitment to 100% clean, renewable energy. Colleges, companies, and communities across the country can lead the way by committing to getting 100 percent of their energy from clean, renewable sources.

The cars we drive should be cleaner, burning less gas and emitting less pollution. Current national standards point us in the right direction. But the president and his administration are moving to roll them back -- which could mean more of us breathing dirtier air, more kids suffering asthma attacks, and a climate that's changing even more rapidly.

The issue is likely to end up in Congress. If we can convince 41 senators to vote to defend clean car standards from rollbacks, we can win.

The president and his administration are moving to undo the Clean Power Plan, which would deliver more clean, renewable energy to America and reduce the pollution that's changing our climate. The debate is likely to end up in Congress. If we can convince 41 senators to vote to defend the Clean Power Plan, we can win.

When it comes to the people and places we love, they all deserve protection. Period. Tell your senators to defend critical environmental protections.

Dear Senator, I urge you to vote against any and all attempts to dismantle environmental protections that keep our air, water, and land clean and our families safe. Please act now to protect the people and places we love.

When it comes to our streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands, they all deserve protection. Period.

Tell your senators to defend the Clean Water Act by voting against any attempts to roll back the Clean Water Rule, which ensures the protection of more than 2 million miles of rivers and streams and the drinking water sources for one in three Americans.

The mining industry is pushing hard to open the land around the park to claims to dig for uranium and other metals. This could have catastrophic affects on the wildlife and waterways in and around the park and expose millions of people to radioactive uranium pollution.

But we can protect the Grand Canyon by ending mining activity in its surrounding areas. Forever. Add your name to our petition to President Obama today.

It's the 100th anniversary of our national park system. But instead of celebrating America's "best idea," some in Congress want to sell off our treasured public lands -- land that belongs to all Americans.

Send a message to your representatives: Our public lands are not for sale. Not one acre.

It's the 100th anniversary of our national park system. But instead of celebrating America's "best idea," some in Congress want to sell off our public lands, even as mining threatens the Grand Canyon and drilling threatens the Everglades.

Send a message to your representatives: Keep our parks in public hands.

It's the 100th anniversary of our national park system. But instead of celebrating America's "best idea," some in Congress want to sell off our public lands, even as mining threatens the Grand Canyon and drilling threatens the Everglades.

Send a message to your representatives: Keep our parks in public hands.

Polluters and their friends in Congress are taking steps right now that could overturn the president's historic action for clean water. Now that we've restored the Clean Water Act, we're not going to let the polluters carve it up again.

President Obama has proposed the biggest action we’ve seen in years to fight global warming – setting the first-ever limits on global warming pollution from existing coal plants, the single largest source of global warming pollution in America.

Send a message to your representatives in Congress urging them to support the Clean Power Plan.

Right now, loopholes in the Clean Water Act leave the drinking water for 117 million Americans vulnerable to unchecked pollution. The EPA has finally proposed a rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to these critical waterways across the country. But polluters from Big Ag to Big Oil are going all in to stop this effort and keep using our waterways as their personal sewers.

Right now, loopholes in the Clean Water Act leave the drinking water for 117 million Americans vulnerable to unchecked pollution. The EPA has finally proposed a rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to these critical waterways across the country. But polluters from Big Ag to Big Oil are going all in to stop this effort and keep using our waterways as their personal sewers.

Join us in showing the EPA that now’s the time to close the loopholes and protect all our waterways.

Right
now, loopholes in the Clean Water Act leave the drinking water for 117
million Americans vulnerable to unchecked pollution. The EPA has finally
proposed a rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to these
critical waterways across the country. But polluters from Big Ag to Big
Oil are going all in to stop this effort and keep using our waterways as
their personal sewers.

Join us in showing the EPA that now’s the time to close the loopholes and protect all our waterways.

Right
now, loopholes in the Clean Water Act leave the drinking water for 117
million Americans vulnerable to unchecked pollution. The EPA has finally
proposed a rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to these
critical waterways across the country. But polluters from Big Ag to Big
Oil are going all in to stop this effort and keep using our waterways as
their personal sewers.

Join us in showing the EPA that now’s the time to close the loopholes and protect all our waterways.